Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(113)



It would be easy for Mr. White to change records. Hell, he could have ordered Chelsea to do it for him. Chelsea was Mr. White’s asset.

If Chelsea thought he was going to hurt the team, she would break ranks no matter what the cost. She would have said something. He trusted Chelsea’s instincts. If she hadn’t warned them, she wasn’t worried about the man they’d called Ezra Fain.

Fain stared mulishly ahead, but Case wondered just how much truth the other man had told him. One particular story seemed to ring true. “Ezra was your brother, wasn’t he?”

Fain’s jaw tightened. “My half brother. He was older than me. I knew going into this particular op that I was likely being an idiot idealist. He was the most idiotic idealist I knew. He gave everything for his country. Looks like even in this he was better than me. Fine. I’m the operative known as Mr. White. I was sent down here to oversee Chelsea Weston. Believe it or not, it was a demotion of sorts. I used to be a field operative.”

Ten’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit. You’re Beckett Kent. You killed that general against orders. I should have recognized you.”

Kent’s face went tight and the man practically snarled. “There’s no proof of that, but I was relieved when the bastard was killed. No one deserved it more. He was raping his way through villages. It made me sick that I had to stay close to him. Luckily someone put a bullet through the f*cker’s heart.”

Ian backed off. “I did hear about that. The Agency wanted intel from the guy. I take it they couldn’t prove you assassinated the f*cker or they would have burned you.”

“A lot of people hated General Mambasi. He had many enemies. I was brought back here for my failure to protect him,” Kent replied. “I was assigned to relay messages of importance to and from the asset known as Chelsea Weston. Information that required sensitivity.”

Information no one wanted written down. “Why the job with Ferland?”

“Cover. And because I wanted to watch McKay-Taggart. I wanted in on taking down The Collective. The Agency still has that as a low priority. When I became aware that 4L Software was working with McKay-Taggart and that gossip linked the case to Mia, I had her on my radar. When she went looking for a bodyguard, I was ready and in place.”

Case was confused. “So if you were trying to get Mia, were you behind the kidnapping attempt on the plane?”

“Your brother’s slow,” Kent said to Ian. “Of course I wasn’t behind that. Nor was I behind the three other attempts, but I did manage to stop the man who is trying to take her. Mia thinks they were random street crimes. I know the truth.”

What the hell was going on? None of it made sense.

Unless the original kidnapping attempt was about more than mere ransom.

Unless Hope McDonald wasn’t working alone. She’d already proven she would send her “boys” out to rob banks for cash. Why not kidnapping? Why not lure out a ripe target? One already known to The Collective.

Fuck. It was Santos. He’d lured them out to Colombia, but he’d been aiming for Mia. “Did you know it was Santos all along? What does he really want Mia for?”

“I told you it was Santos on the phone,” Ten said, shaking his head. “Does anyone ever listen to a word I say?”

Case rolled his eyes. “The reception from your chopper sucks. I heard about half of what you said. Tell me it’s not on top of my building.”

“Of course it is,” Ian tossed back, finally setting his gun down and freeing Fain…White…Kent…god, he wished Agency *s would pick one name and stick with it. “He might have left the CIA, but the dude still likes to make an entrance. And Case is right. When you called me earlier tonight I wasn’t sure if you were telling me my brother was in danger or if you were ordering a pizza. Your cell service sucks. Are we talking about Tony Santos? The * who only likes blondes? The last I heard the Agency was putting him out to pasture for mental health reasons.”

Kent nodded. “He’s a crazy motherf*cker. Or at least he wanted everyone to believe it. I think he would have taken Mia on the beach that day in Colombia, but I let him see me.”

Case ran a hand over his hair, trying to force himself to think. Panic sat in his gut, but Mia didn’t need that right now. “Santos is a former CIA operative, right? So how much would he know about Hope McDonald and the drug?”

Kent stood, stretching his long arms. Case would bet Ian hadn’t been kind in this particular bondage session. “He would likely know everything. I’ve been tracking him. I think he was a Collective plant, but he got out before I could get any evidence on him. It was right around the time Smith got burned and I was pulled back to the States. Things were a little chaotic and they’re only now beginning to calm down. Tell me something, Smith, were you in DC to try to get Agency backing for the Sierra Leone op?”

Ian frowned. “How the hell do you know about the Sierra Leone op?”

Fuck. Everyone listened to his messages. “When did you get hold of Mia’s phone?”

Kent sent him a sympathetic stare. “On the plane from Austin to here. She spent a lot of time on her other line talking to someone named Kori. It was fairly easy to get the private phone in my hands. I only listened to the last message, but I get it. I really do. She’s an amazing woman. I’m going to do everything I can to help you get her back.”

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